Thread: New Naniwa 12000, lapping necessary?

You need to lap it flat and, especially since you are a beginner, you also need to chamfer the two long edges at the top of the hone. You can do this with a sheet of wet/dry sandpaper on a flat surface.

If you are a bachelor and live alone, spray a little water on a countertop, lay the sandpaper out on top of the water and press it out flat. Spray a liberal amount of water on the sandpaper and the hone. Let both soak a couple of minutes and keep re-wetting each during that time as needed. Draw a few cross hatched grid lines lightly on the hone with a pencil. Invert the hone onto the sandpaper and perform figure eight movements with just the weight of the hone--holding the sandpaper in place if needed. Monitor lapping by checking the grid lines and keep rinsing the top of the hone of built up slurry. Keep everything wet. When the grid lines are gone, draw them again and repeat and check to see if the lines all are removed simultaneously. If they are, then the hone is flat. If not, then repeat again.

If you are married or involved with anyone, do this at a bachelor friend's house, or do it inside of a flat cookie pan, or be prepared to buy flowers.

Start with a lower grit sandpaper around 300 grit. Repeat with a sheet around 1000 grit.